HERE’S a rendition of ‘Frozen’ that you won’t mind sitting in front of in the run-up to Christmas. Finished exclusively in Frozen White, the new MS-RT R120 is a Limited Edition Ford Transit Connect.
MS-RT is a design-led automotive engineering company creating bespoke Ford vehicles that stand out on the road. The company is a unique collaboration with rally legend Malcolm Wilson, who has more than 30 years experience at rallying’s highest level, Wilson took over management of the Ford World Rally Team in 1996. Since then they have earned two world titles, 52 World Rally Championship round victories and more than 200 podiums.
MS-RT, which uses styling and technology pioneered by Ford’s works rally team, is producing a limited run of 30 R120s in Britain and six in Northern Ireland, with the vans being designed and built at its factory in Pontypool, South Wales.
Priced from £25,995 + VAT, the strictly limited edition is based on the Transit Connect Panel van as a two or three-seater, in either short or long wheelbase configurations. The vehicle is available only in Frozen White, with subtle red and black rally decals and specially designed white rally-inspired OZ racing alloy wheels. The interior receives further special treatment, with full leather seats with red stitching and a full carbon fibre sports steering wheel with red centre line. In addition, it gets the company’s own quad sports exhaust system with black exhaust tips, black mirror caps, bi-xenon headlamps, Ford Pass Connect, cruise control, wireless charging pad, reversing rear camera and dual sliding loading doors. A further feature is a Maxhaust system, which uses app-based technology to deliver the sound of a sports exhaust through the van’s integral speakers, giving it a soundtrack to match its impressive road dynamics. This product will be a supply-only option from MS-RT.
The van will be available on a strictly limited basis with no plans to increase the production run, guaranteeing its status as a future collectors’ item and helping it stand out from other light commercial vehicles.
All MS-RT Transit Connects, including the R120, come with Ford’s three-year/100,000-mile warranty and a choice of manual or automatic transmission. MS-RT Founding Director, Edward Davies, said: “The MS-RT Transit Connect has already been a huge success and we’ve developed the R120 in response to customer demand for something even more bespoke. The special edition model is sure to sell out very quickly and become an icon among fans of the MS-RT brand.” Each van is constructed by hand at the Pontypool factory, which employs over 80 staff, all individually trained to meet the company’s exacting levels of craftsmanship.
Mini-revival for the Metro
THE Metro was to be the ‘British Car to Beat the World’. Launched in October 1980, the Austin Mini Metro was the UK’s first proper supermini, a car that would finally bring the ageing BL corporation bang up to date. Now, almost four decades to the day since it first appeared, the humble Metro is being celebrated in an all-new book by noted motoring historian and author, Craig Cheetham.
The book touches on the Metro throughout its multiple generations, including the mid-80s facelift, the launch of the Rover Metro and its final guise as the Rover 100.
Metro history wouldn’t be complete without reference to motorsport, from the MG Metro Cup race series to the launch of the mighty 6R4 rally car in part developed by my sporting hero Tony Pond.
The 6R4 was a 3-litre, turbocharged, V6, mid-engined 4-wheel drive rally car producing more than 410bhp, 0-60 in around three seconds and a top speed of close to 150mph. I competed as co-driver in a Metro 6R4 that finished in the top 10 of a National Rally Championship event, and I can tell you... it was quite some experience.
The Metro touched millions of lives, whether you bought one new, your mum had one or you learned to drive in one, it was part of the fabric of our motoring history and they remained on sale for almost two decades. Today, it’s an appreciating classic. When first launched it cost £3,095, today a good example would set you back around four and a half grand, and whilst over seventeen years over two million were produced, most were destroyed in successive scrappage schemes.
The Metro could be a little rustbucket says Gerrard Shaw, who runs the Metropower website. Like many enthusiasts, his car is safely tucked away, only appearing on special occasions. There's also a Facebook group with 4,500 members dedicated to preserving and enhancing the reputation of the Metro. But unflattering magazine articles, Top Gear features and TV’s Alan Partridge putting the boot into the little car regularly did much to tarnish its image.
Seeing a nice one on the road today creates good memories for me and it makes me smile to see they are still about. It’s kind of sad to think that there are fewer than half as many Metros left as there are Minis, XR2s or GTIs, but one man’s meat has always been another’s man’s poison
I never actually owned a Metro but I drove plenty. In 1982 I wrote an article for the paper on the then much heralded and just launched MG Metro, loaned by Maguire’s Garage on the Falls Road, It was an exciting little car to drive, fast and agile, and whilst not a Golf GTI, it certainly was a lively little hatchback in its day.
Happy birthday, Mini Metro.
